The Grizzly Marathon was a wonderful race. I had a wonderful time in the wilds of Montana. Lots of fantastic volunteers made the miles go quickly. Glacier National Park is a beautiful side trip not be missed. I would highly recommend this race to anyone who enjoys a challenging and scenic course.

A well organized marathon supported by the town of Choteau, Montana. A tough course at high elevation. Wonderful support throughout the course. This was my 36th marathon and I was impressed with the organization. Course was well marked, with aid stations throughout. The race director, David Hirschfeld, and his staff did a great job. This area of Montana is really breathtaking with the mountains in the background.

For an inaugural race, the good folks from Choteau, Montana are to be applauded for putting on a good show. The course was on the tough side, less for the elevation gains (4,100 to 4,900 feet) and more for the poor running surface - good-sized rocks embedded in an undulating dirt road. While I was hoping to see wildlife (the marketers said there was a good chance of seeing grizzlies, elk, mountain lion), I spent most of my time staring at my feet, trying to avoid twisting an ankle. The ascent from mile 8 to 12 was tough, as was the 17 to 19 mile stretch. The weather cooperated nicely - overcast skies (versus the smokey haze the day before from Montana forest fires). The aid stations were ample and nicely equipped. Given that the winning time was over 3 hours, one might say this was a fairly tough marathon. Unless they do something to improve the running surface, I wouldn't run this one again - the bottoms of my feet deserve better!